Castlevania II: Simon's quest is a great sequel to the original, despite some irritating flaws.
The plot of the game is that after you defeated Dracula in the first game, he laid a curse on you that can only be undone if you resurrect Dracula and defeat him for a second time.
Each of his body parts are scattered into 5 different mansions. You must explore these mansions, get the body parts, and once that's all done, fight Dracula.
Now that I've covered the plot, let's talk about the gameplay. Though it may be a sudden change as far as gameplay goes when you compare it to the first Castlevania, It's still a fantastic game.
You're still in a beautifully rendered 8-bit side-scrolling world, and you're still swinging your vampire killer whip at anything that moves.
Except for the townspeople.
Wait, Townspeople?
This was a shock for many players when they first played, because not only was this the first time ever seeing other humans in a Castlevania game, but it was also the first time where you actually talk to people.
Now, I just want to clear this up. There is only one person in the whole game who gives you a helpful hint.
At the very start of the game, you may talk to someone who says "The first thing to do in this town is buy a white crystal."
As for everyone else, get ready for an onslaught of complete lies and/or very vague clues.
That's the main problem that most people have with the game. It's too hard to figure out on your own, unless you look up a walkthrough on the Internet or have a Nintendo power guide.
For example, when you're in a town, you walk into a house. It's empty. You figure " Eh, there's nothing interesting here."
Oh, but wait!
If you randomly spam holy water everywhere, a few blocks will disappear.
You go though the empty space where the blocks were, and you find some steps.
You walk down the steps, and find yourself at another dead end.
Again, spam holy water at the wall, and it melts away.
You walk into the room that's now revealed to be behind the wall, and FINALLY, There's the shopkeeper, ready to serve you.
Now, what the hell. This makes no sense in more ways than one, let me tell you.
First of all, let's try to put ourselves in the minds of the shopkeeper himself.
"Okay, I want to build a shop. This empty room seems perfect.
But I don't like having the idea of a customer just walking in and finding my store. So I think I'll build another room full of steps that leads to down stairs, concealed by a fake floor that melts away if someone throws holy water.
Now, I'm still not satisfied. I think that once all the stairs come to an end, I'll build another wall that also melts away if one should throw holy water at it.
Now, if anyone can find my store, I'll be in business!"
Are you kidding? I think the first step to having a successful store is putting it in a spot that's easy to find!
Speaking of which, there are lots of these rooms in each town, but some of them are much simpler. You walk into the house, and the shopkeeper is right there.
But once you get used to that, you don't expect the game to just throw you off like that!
Most of these towns are the same, just altered slightly and some have different colored bricks, which is good, because then you don't really have to get used to a new town every time.
My favorite is the "Slut town". Well, that's not what it's actually called, but it deserves this title, because talk to a woman, and she'll say "I've been waiting for a good-looking guy like you."
Talk to another, and She'll say "Meet me on the riverbank at midnight."
(I've tried. You'll get stood up.)
However, You'll most likely forgive the confusing, sometimes frustrating elements that the game has.
It's still a solid, well-built platforming adventure, it just has some flaws, that's all.
Overall,This game is well worth your time, and I'd strongly recommend buying it. An essential NES title.
Mamagod